Sister Kyle: I don't abla a whole lot of espanol

Happy January people.

I'm officially past my year mark and now I fear the last part of my mission is going to run away.

Sister Alaalatoa and I are working hard to help our little Samoan unit become a branch. It was a branch years ago but then when it got dissolved so many members stopped going to Church completely, for different reasons so now it is our rescue mission to bring everyone back together. A lot of the Samoan families pretend they're not home even when we see their kids peaking through the window but every so often people are kind enough to invite us in. We found a super cute family in San Jose this week. Their house was perfectly post-Christmas chaotic but they were happy to see the missionaries. We got to know the family and discovered that the dad passed away almost exactly a year ago and left his wife with their 6 kids under the age of 10. It was obvious that they had a hard year. I think they've been attending Church in a San Jose ward but the atmosphere of the home was clearly not as happy as it was when the dad was there. We also found out that the dad passed away before him and his wife got to be sealed in the Temple. My little heart hurt for them but we got to bring a little bit more light into their home with the message we taught. Their New Year goal is to have family home evening regulaly again and also to get to the temple. So many of the Samoan members treat me and my companion like we are angels from heaven who will bring their families many blessings. That's a heavy title to bear so it makes me remember to be an obedient missionary so that I can qualify to carry the Spirit with me into the homes we visit.

Last night we had an hour to spare before we needed to be home so we stopped at one of our go-to Spanish less-active homes. Typically my companion gives the wife a spiritual thought while I sit there smiling and trying to turn my Spanish brain on. It works a sixth of the time. Last night I understood that we were teaching a short lesson about prayer and when my companion was finishing, the wife started telling a story. I won't lie, my Spanish brain got away from me and I stopped trying to pay attention until I noticed tears running down her face. I checked back in and tried to discern what she was talking about. The only word I really understood was, "terrible" and she kept saying it. Since I don't abla a whole lot of espanol I flipped through my Book of Mormon to find a scripture about hope. I didn't know what she was crying about but I knew she needed some hope. So I directed my companion to 2 Ne 31:20 and it seemed to be the perfect medicine. My companion told me later that she was crying because she had lost hope in her family especially her young rebllious son and her older daughter. Of course a scripture won't solve all her problems but I know the power that one verse can have at the right time. There's a lot of work to do in her family but I know she has hope to keep trying.

I think my companion and I are becoming repentance therapists. The unit is full of people who have put off repenting and so we teach. I love teaching people repentance because it makes the gospel very alive. When people are hurting, they don't give unthoughtful/obvious answers to questions. It's amazing how simple the path to Christ is. So many of life's problems are fixed by Church attendance and daily scripture study/prayer. Our friend with the lips tattooed to his neck learned yesterday that Church isn't where good people go to show others that they're CTR-ing. Church is for sinners who are becoming strong.

The last year of my life hasn't been very glamorous but I can't put into words how life changing and simple it has been. This may or may not be my last week with my Samoan people; I'll find out on Saturday. Everytime I get comfortable, I get moved but I'm up for the challenge of a new adventure.

Today I'm playing rugby with the children (elders) and then tomorrow I get to train my zone on the "opposite sex" portion of the whitehandbook with an emphasis to discourage the elders from creeping on the new 19 year old sisters. I'm just the luckiest.

Gotta run!

Mark Zuckerburg says what up.

LOVE, SISTER KATIE KYLE